Review: iKhaya Festival @ Zula Bar By CPT Hippie Girl
“All I know is I dig the new Zula and will be back. It’s a perfect winter haven for us suffering outdoor party withdrawals.”
The sheer size of the new Zula is enough to impress – it’s almost as if you could get lost inside if you wanted, especially with the dim lights and spinning rays of blue and red.
We arrive there at around 10pm, skipping a daunting queue to mutter our names at the door and accept numerous armbands as if by magic. (My, I could get used to this!)
The Trance vibe is going on in the first room downstairs, but at this point it’s sounding more minimal than anything else, so I spot a familiar character and we strain our voices to discuss the general decline of the trance scene, savouring words like ‘commercialised’. But after a while it’s difficult to keep up any kind of conversation. In here, the music clearly rules.
A general scout seems in order – a desire to explore the many burrows of this musical playground- so we tackle the stairs, follow a left curve and find ourselves in the Alternative music room, just in time to catch the end of Alice Phoebe Lou’s live acoustic set. A beanie balances atop the young blonde’s head, her lyrics confessing a provocative wisdom way beyond her years.
Next up in the Alternative arena is my favourite local female DJ Honey B, with her pert bob and Balkan demeanour. Not to mention the beats: a combination of swing and other quirky unexpected sounds.
Trust me to favour the Alternative dance floor! Folk surrounding me seem dressed like they’re not trying, but you can tell that they are, if you know what I mean.
Maybe it’s the intimacy and fresh air that draws the crowd, or maybe it’s the low ceiling that gives the illusion of a crowd at all.
From where we are sitting we have a nice view of the Red Bull truck parked out front, blaring drum-and-bass, their many screens showing extreme sports footage. I shudder as I catch another glimpse of the growing queue along the pavement outside.
The time at this point feels just about right to check out the Electronic dance floor, which proves to be a cavernous space directly opposite. We dive in and are greeted by the cartoon-y intro tune for Mr Sakitumi and The Grrrl.
Some couches in a corner look inviting – I see people appreciating the moody lighting of their relaxation time, feet propped on low table – but we push on, loyal to the act of ‘party’.
In here I begin to notice an interesting mix of a crowd: I see girls in Claremont-style dresses, others rocking cowboy shirts… the inevitable hoody-boys, as well as some good old pretentious town-y folk. I even catch a glimpse of a bizarre (dare I say) crochet coat.
The tequila shot promo girls fluster past, g-strings swinging from their arm. We gently decline and make our way to the front of the crowd.
An Asian guy on stage is messing around on a guitar, but the sounds I am hearing are weird, alien and squishy. ‘Weahhh! Weahh! Weahh!’
In my vocabulary the phrase ‘twilight zone’ is synonymous with ‘Trance’, so as the hour hits midnight we head downstairs again.
Pushing self-righteously through the crowd towards the infamous ‘front left’ spot, I notice it’s my ex-boyfriend playing in the DJ box. As per usual Bruce offers up some good old-school trance beats: sounds I dig, but what some pedantics would call ‘too fluffy’.
A sense of calm familiarity as I bask once again in UV light, smiling as I note the beginning signs of trance madness amongst the crowd.
Ok so iKhaya festival comes short when you compare it to outdoor parties, (who can compete with the soil beneath our toes and the sunshine touching our heads?) but it has opened up a whole different kind of indoor party, one that does not feel cramped but can rather be enjoyed through continuous venue exploration and a vast variety of sounds for even the most sophisticated palette to sample from.
All I know is I dig the new Zula and will be back. It’s a perfect winter haven for us suffering outdoor party withdrawals.
WORDS: Rachel Briant
IMAGES: Roland Metcalfe
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